Make Hay While the Sun Shines
by Nerumi H
Summary: She never thought she'd be cliff-diving. She also never thought she'd love a boy who had to leave. Jackunzel fluff.


.title.: **Make Hay While the Sun Shines**

.summary.: **She never thought she'd be cliff-diving. She also never thought she'd love a boy who had to leave. **

.characters.: **Jack Frost / Rapunzel - Merida - Hiccup**

.universe.: **High School/Summer Vacation AU**

.a/n.: **Once again, for Jackunzel week!**

**The first version of this was very different - Jack and Rapunzel met on a plane, Rapunzel having run away from home, but it became too long and ran around in too many circles for a suitable final entry. It may show up as a fic, though, if I complete it!**

**Also, I have never really written Merida nor Hiccup before, and their movies are the ones I've seen the least/longest ago. My apologies. This was written at 2AM and I'm...yeah. Tired. Still on Wordpad so sorry for spelling!**

**X**

Rapunzel found out that day that she was very good at hiding in vegetation. Perhaps it wasn't exactly a trophy-daughter talent, but it did keep her a comfortable distance in and out of these people's worlds.

She peered through the bright green bushes at the edge of the water - so luminously blue like candy syrup, frothing white with the remnants of the previous intruder. She tucked away her blonde hair, so unruly and long that it draped clean to the grass. Her mother would hate her being here, but then again, wasn't that the point?

She was a teenager and she was tired of being tied to her room on perpetual grounding, so the first slot of time she found when her mother was out at some appointment, she snuck away. She'd known exactly where she was going - it was the hottest day of summer, the sun so bright that even just the slightly darker purple sash on her sundress was on fire with the attraction the murderous rays had to it. Her hair stuck to the back of her neck with sweat. Her toes curled in the plastic of her pink flip-flops that may as well be melting.

This was her last day in this summery, beach-gem country, and her last day with her best friends. And here she was, _hiding_ from them.

Her mother would hate this. She didn't like Rapunzel's friends - Merida had no manners, Hiccup was awkward and sarcastic, and Jack...well, Jack was the worst in her mother's eyes, while they were best in hers. To Mother, Jack was wild and had the worst intentions, on the road to hell with a Harley. Even if he didn't own a Harley. To Rapunzel he was charming and feisty and perfectly spontaneous.

Rapunzel disagreed with all her mother's opinions on her friends. The only judgments anyone was allowed to have about these teenagers with so little time knowing them (only two summer weeks) were positive ones. And did Rapunzel ever have a positive impression.

So...why was she hiding?

Rapunzel bit her lip and closed her fists. This was her last chance, and she had the rest of her life to repay her mother with obediance. She couldn't miss this.

Rapunzel got to her feet and scampered from her hiding place, fast enough through the path so that she couldn't just slink back away like a scared animal if her guilt got a hold of her. She would run and she would do this!

When she breached the crowd of them, all standing on the rocky shores of the water in their bathing suits and smiles that turned into grins upon seeing her, she wondered how on earth it had been so hard to make this decision.

"Punz! There you are!" Jack greeted first, running up to her and throwing an arm over her shoulders, pulling her unceremoniously into his bare chest. He was tall and lankily awkward but he still gave the best embraces, his laughter a musical tremor that thrummed against her ears.

She giggled, squirming away with a desperate effort to hide her blush that was thankfully aided by the ultimate concealer of red that was Merida's hair, as the girl quicky hugged her too.

"We thought you weren't comin', Rapunzel!" she exclaimed, folding her arms across her oversized t-shirt. The fabric was stretched enough to tell Rapunzel that her friend hadn't been able to wait for her before going for a swim, even if the sun already seemed to be doing a sufficient job drying it.

"Yeah, we couldn't miss your last day here," Hiccup said from where he was sitting on the rocks, waving a hand at her.

She enthusiastically waved back, smiling at them all. "Sorry I took so long. My mom didn't want to leave me alone today."

"Little does she know what capable hands you're in." Jack grinned down at her, a flashy cocky gesture that always made her feel so assured in him no matter what stupid thing he dared to say. She beamed back, shoving him playfully.

"Well, I dunno about you guys, but I'm just about gonna melt," Merida announced. "Who says we finally get to the plan?"

"Aye!" Jack blurted, raising his hand, and Hiccup echoed it as he got to his feet.

Rapunzel blinked at them. "What plan?"

Jack pointed at the cliff across the water. "What do you think?"

Merida snickered as Rapunzel's eyes grew enormous. She recalled one of the earlier days that they'd spent together, where Jack and Merida had daringly thrown themselves off of that very cliff, a cape of wild red and screaming until they plunged into the water with a dangerous-looking velocity. Although they'd both been breathless and elated when they'd crawled laughing onto land, Rapunzel couldn't shake how high up they had to jump from. They were fearless - she wasn't. Did they really expect her to do it?

"Cliff diving?" she echoed the excited claim in Merida and Jack's eyes.

"What, you thought we were gonna let you go without your rite of passage, Punzie?" Merida gently grabbed her arm, and immediately began tugging her along the path of the forest that led to the very top of that cliff.

Hiccup trotted to catch up with the three. "Merida, if Rapunzel doesn't want to - "

"Of course she wants to."

Hiccup rolled his eyes in reply. Brightly, Jack volunteered, "She can swim. She's daring. She's hopefully hiding a bathing suit under that dress." He smirked down at her, stuffing his hands into his swim trunk pockets. "Am I right?"

"Er, two out of three."

"Besides," Jack took her other arm so she was being stumbled this way and that through the thin trees by both of her most audacious friends, "You're not gonna go alone. Everyone knows I'm the best swimmer here, so no worries."

Merida snorted. "You just like to show off, but I beat you in t- "

"Nonsense. Don't worry Rapunzel more," Jack interrupted loudly. He then dug his feet in the dirt, halting them. "Hurry on ahead, kiddos. I have to give her a peptalk."

"No one needs to know _what _kind of peptalk," Merida said with dramatisized distaste, but she luckily let Rapunzel's arm fall.

"Hence you hurrying along. We'll meet you at the top."

Thankfully, Merida listened, and grabbed a seemingly confused Hiccup by the hand while stomping the rest of the way up through the trees. Once Merida's red hair vanished, Rapunzel poked Jack's bony shoulder and said, "You're so not the best swimmer."

He smirked. "Not important. However lately I've been thinking of something that really _is _important, though."

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow, tilting her head at him. "That's surprising. What is it?"

Jack rocked back on his heels, one hand appearing to gesture around his words. "Well, you're leaving tomorrow morning and all that, and I figured, you know, we've turned into really good friends, don't you think?"

She couldn't help it - she smirked at him, clasping her hands together behind her back. "Yes, Jack?"

"So, uhm, phone numbers would be cool." Jack sniggered with embarrassment to himself, pushing back his hair. She could read his extremely verbal expressions from miles away - awkward, surely, and she knew so many other words were hidden under the ones he spoke. He proved that when he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, morphed it into an attempt of a chill smirk, and continued, "And if you wanted to get together. Sometime. Like for coffee or your zen tea thing."

Her automatic response spilled: "Of course, Jackson!" And the second it was out and Jack's expression brightened, she felt a spark of guilt. She wasn't sure if she could keep that promise - she lived far away. _Very_ far away.

She ... never really did tell them where she _actually_ lived. Jack must think she only lived a few cities over.

Her mouth popped open to formulate _some_ kind of excuse or remedy, but then Merida's call seared through the leaves - "Hurry up, you two! If some snotty kids take our spot before you're done snogging, I'm killing both of ya!"

"Don't regulate my snogging!" Jack yelled back. He turned to Rapunzel again and edgily laughed. "So, yeah, that's good. Good answer." He inhaled, tilting his head, and she could read the words before he even said them. They were in his crooked, modest smirk, the softness in his blue eyes, and her mental voice crowed the warnings of her mother's as he began: "I was actually wondering if you and I, uh - "

"JACK!"

"We should go!" Rapunzel exclaimed unecessarily loudly. She held out her arm - he glanced at it, at her, and then shrugged and linked their arms together. Was he going to _ask her out? _Like, boyfriend-girlfriend? He was being so vague that she didn't want to get ahead of herself, but she swore she knew him so well even for only a few weeks. He was so readable, and in this instant, it filled her with electric happiness that felt like a betrayal - tomorrow morning, she'd be bording a plane to Germany, and what cup of tea could make it between them from there? What words, even?

This time, she led _him_ up the hill, not out of excitement for the cliff-dive but the nervousness and how much she didn't want him to finish his question. And at the same time, she wanted to grab his shoulders and force the request out of him, and then give him the most enthusiastic yes she could manage.

Just then, they reached the top of the cliff where Merida and Hiccup stood post at the very edge, Merida with her hands on her hips. Hiccup commented knowingly, "Your blush tells me that peptalk was scintillating."

"Are you blushing? Really?" Jack's voice was filled with cheeky curiosity, and he tried to lean around to catch a glimpse - Rapunzel pushed her hands into his face and laughed, wriggling away to the other two.

Merida cleared her throat, and gestured the blonde girl closer to her. Rapunzel was confused until Merida turned up her chin and began in her thickest royal accent yet: "Do you, Rapunzel, swear yourself as an honorary member of the Big Four?"

She laughed - the nickname always had such a funny ring to her. But it was their ring, and she thought hard enough for her oath to be the most honest it could ever be, which was when she realised with absolute clarity that it was a doubtless: "I do!"

"Do you swear to go home tomorrow morning and remember us as your best friends?"

Rapunzel doubted she could ever forget these weeks. "Definitely."

"And do you swear on your whole entire heart to complete this cliff-dive from start to finish?"

"You say that like she can stop halfway - "

"Shut it, Hiccup. Do you?"

Rapunzel peered at the edge of the cliff, leaning as far as she could dare herself. The water was sugary, clean and azure. When she turned back, Jack had appeared next to Merida, and shot her a thumbs-up.

She didn't quite feel scared of it anymore. They'd all done it - her friends were fearless and she was a part of them. And if this was going to be her final rite of passage with Jack, then so be it - she wanted it to be something so dramatic and fun, like the rest of their relationship had been.

She crossed her arms and proudly said, "I do."

Jack leaped forwards and gestured widely at the canyon. "Well, go on ahead, then, Princess."

"You're coming with me, right?"

Jack sniggered. "Only if you promise to scream louder than me."

She elbowed him, then stepped away to kick off her shoes and her sundress. Her bathing suit was a ruffled pink piece that Hiccup acted blinded by, and she could only bite her lip to smother down anxious giggles as she approached the edge.

She felt so ecstatic, nerves like July sparklers. Maybe it was from fear, but when Jack gripped her hand and backed her up a few steps, it got even worse until she couldn't hold it in - a wriggle tore up her back and ended in an excited little jump and shriek. As he watched that action, Jack squeezed her hand, firing her a smile that matched the soft pure blue of his eyes.

Jack pulled her forwards and she ran with him - the ground tore in a blur under her feet until they kicked off at the very edge of the cliff. She hung nearly suspended in the air, her world for an amazingly long second only crystal blue and weightlessness, the inevitability of the fall, the rush that filled her throat with a scream. There was only one way to go - she'd taken her chance despite all her earlier worries and it was _amazing._

Jack held her hand the whole few seconds as they kicked through the air, his laughter-punctuated yell blurring around her like a net to keep her suspended in this mystic ecstacy.

The water gathered chill and sharp around her, but the way Jack brought her into him as soon as they had their bearings warmed her through and through. She'd fallen back into stability, with him.

Jack shook water from his hair as they both treaded in the clear water, holding each other as they caught their breath. She could feel his heartbeat's wild race, but she swore it must have sped up even more when he gasped with a forcibly casual tone yet a very tell-tale hesitance, "You know what I said about getting together for coffee and stuff?"

"Yes?"

"I was thinking, we can do that, or get together for an undetermined but really optimistic number of years."

She knew it. Oh, she knew it. She hugged him tighter, if that was even possible.

She was leaving here tomorrow - she lived countries away, so contact would be hard enough, not to mention her mother. Mother just didn't see the absolute clarity Jack was to Rapunzel. He was sweet and honest, a jokester but he'd been serious and kind with her when she'd told him about her worries of going home. He was fun and lovely, and for these reasons she would love to have him and be his, but when he was from America and she Germany, she couldn't help looking at all the horrible variables.

But she couldn't lose him and his humour, his charm, his loyalty, genuinity, nor her affection for him, just because of the threat of some measly miles.

Giggling, she buried her face into the comfort of his shoulder and was met with another bought of feeling like when she was inches from the tip of the cliff. She didn't know what would happen in the end but she knew what she could do now. Leaving tomorrow, she reminded herself. That didn't mean she still didn't have right now.

Jack replied. "Hey, you can't laugh at me. I'm holding out my heart here."

Rapunzel grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down to her level in the water, where she kissed him fully. July sparklers - now she was talking fireworks. She was even surprised with herself, but this she could get used to.

She pulled back and told him, "And you have mine."


End file.
